Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which events and actions depicted in Channel 4’s Dirty Business took place; and what plans they have to investigate whether the Environment Agency and its executives provided misleading information to the public.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government recognises that Channel 4’s Dirty Business brings together real‑world events, testimony and commentary to highlight public concern about sewage pollution. Whilst scenes aren't a literal account of regulatory practice, this show has helped shine a light on issues that matter to communities and underlines why improving water quality and accountability is so important.
Regulators are independent and investigate suspected breaches of environmental law using established legal processes. Where credible evidence suggests offences or misleading information, regulators have powers to investigate and take enforcement action, including prosecution. It would be inappropriate for Ministers to comment on individual cases or ongoing investigations.
The Government has significantly strengthened oversight of both water companies and regulators. The Environment Agency is on track to carry out up to 10,000 inspections annually, supported by increased funding, additional staff and greater use of unannounced inspections. The Government has also committed to ending operator self‑monitoring and moving to a more transparent, independent monitoring regime.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what dates companies and individuals fully paid the fines levied by Ofcom during 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Ofcom imposed seven penalties in 2024 and 20 penalties in 2025. A breakdown is provided in Ofcom’s financial penalties publication (available here). https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/about-ofcom/annual-reports/2024-25/section-400-licence-fees-and-penalties-accounts-2024-2025.pdf?v=400015 Ofcom does not routinely publish information giving specific dates for when companies have paid their fines.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what dates companies and individuals fully paid the fines levied by Ofgem during 2024 and 2025.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem is directly accountable to Parliament for the performance of its functions. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) does not oversee Ofgem’s regulatory or organisational activities. As such, this information is not held by DESNZ and so is not readily available. However, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofgem to write to my noble Friend to provide the information. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what amount of interest has been paid to commercial banks on central bank reserves in each of the last ten years; and whether they have considered ending such payments.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data on the interest paid on central bank reserves backed by bonds held in the Asset Purchase Facility is made publicly available by the Office for National Statistics in its monthly Public Sector Finances publication.
Time period | Interest payable |
Dataset identifier code | MDD7 |
2015 | 1,872 |
2016 | 1,515 |
2017 | 1,501 |
2018 | 3,434 |
2019 | 3,374 |
2020 | 1,078 |
2021 | 941 |
2022 | 13,394 |
2023 | 38,233 |
2024 | 36,335 |
2025 | 25,910 |
These data refer to reserves backed only by bonds held in the Asset Purchase Facility. While data on total interest paid is not available, the Bank of England does publish the aggregate level of outstanding reserves and the Bank Rate.
Paying interest on reserves is an important part of the transmission of monetary policy to the real economy and there are no plans to change the way reserves are remunerated at the Bank of England.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what amounts associated with the Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility are included in the cumulative government debt; and whether they plan to exclude them from the total.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Information on the contribution to debt from the Bank of England and Asset Purchase Facility are routinely published in the monthly Public Sector Finances statistical release. The latest release, published by the Office for National Statistics on 20th March, showed that the impact on government debt from Asset Purchase Facility gilt holdings was £85.1 billion at the end of February 2026.
The Government's fiscal rules target net financial debt (Public sector net financial liabilities), to prioritise investment to drive long-term growth while getting debt falling as a share of the economy. Net financial debt includes the Bank of England’s balance sheet activities, including the Asset Purchase Facility.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise regulation of shadow banks following the collapse of Market Financial Solutions.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury continues to work closely with the Bank of England and the regulators to monitor and respond to developments in the non-bank financial sector. The Treasury keeps the regulatory framework under review and is closely engaged in international work to understand and mitigate financial stability risks in respect of non-banks, including at the Financial Stability Board and G7.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the RAF Voyager aircraft are leased; who are the real ultimate owners; and what payments have been made to them since 2008.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All RAF Voyager aircraft are leased. A Private Finance Initiative arrangement allows for all 14 Voyager aircraft owned by AirTanker Limited to be leased to the Ministry of Defence (MOD), with 11 being leased to the MOD at this time.
The payments since 2008 for the AirTanker Limited concession contract total approximately £6 billion.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the collapse of Wilko in 2023, what action they have taken against directors and auditors of Wilko.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
The Insolvency Service received the administrators’ reports in November 2023. After reviewing the reports, the Insolvency Service concluded that there were either no grounds or insufficient grounds to commence a disqualification investigation.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has not taken any enforcement action against the auditors, and responsibility for investigating the auditor's conduct in this case lies with the relevant professional body. The FRC continues to monitor developments given the public interest in this case.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many adults in the UK they expect not to pay any income tax in the financial year 2025–26.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Data on the number of UK adults who are not liable to pay income tax are not currently held or published.
HMRC publishes projections for the total number of Income Taxpayers per year in Table 2.1 of the Income Tax liabilities statistics. [1] Current projections show that there are estimated to be 39.1 million Income Taxpayers in the UK in the 2025 to 2026 financial year.
The Office for National Statistics publishes projections for the total number of people in the UK by age in their population projections. [2] They currently estimate there to be 55.9 million individuals aged 18 or over in the UK in 2025.
[1] Table 2.1 of our Accredited official statistics (gov.uk).
[2] Zipped population projections data files, UK - Office for National Statistics
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to propose legislation under which organisations with criminal convictions would be prevented from owning and controlling water supply and wastewater services.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to holding water companies to the highest standards of environmental and corporate responsibility. We are taking robust action to strengthen accountability and enforcement across the sector.
This includes the Water (Special Measures) Act, which delivers the most significant increase in enforcement powers for regulators in over a decade. Rules issued by Ofwat on fitness and propriety will require companies to test whether senior individuals meet specified standards and prevent the appointment of individuals to these roles where standards are not met.
In addition, the Environment Agency and Ofwat have also launched the largest criminal and civil investigations into water company discharges ever undertaken. These can lead to criminal prosecution and unlimited fines.
The Government is also conducting the largest review of the water sector since privatisation through the Independent Water Commission. This will examine how the sector can better deliver for customers and the environment, including the effectiveness of current ownership and governance arrangements. The Commission final report is due to be published this summer, and the Government will respond in due course.